Friday, March 12, 2010

Dog Park in City of Grand Haven

It's been a while since I've been here. The blogging thing is new for me so if I'm don't know much about something, I tend to shy away from it. I'm trying to fight that urge and get to know more about blogging. So please forgive me of my abscence. With that said....

I've recently taken on the task of raising $15,000 for a $30,000 dog park to be located in the City of Grand Haven. I've never done any fundraising, unless you count selling candy bars for school so this should be fun. My goal is to have the park open by next spring/summer. We all know that there can be setbacks but this is my goal. If you want to stay informed on the progess of the park, keep checking on the blog or better yet, become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mustlovedogsonline where I update most frequently.

Below are excerps from an update that I posted to Facebook Fans and some is updated information since then:

I started attending the GH City Parks & Recreation meetings at the end of last summer. I had caught wind that they were talking abot a dog park. I wanted to be involved to help this park come to fruition and do whatever I could to help. At the February meeting, I asked what I could to to expedite this process. They said FUNDRAISE. Pat, the city manager, happened to be at this meeting and he said that the City of Grand Haven is willing to put $15,000 towards a $30,000 dog park.

So I decided to take on the challenge of raising the remaining $15,000.

Here is what happened so far. I met with Holly at the Community Foundation to talk about how to handle donations.

I have set up an account in the dog park's name at Community Shores Bank to securely hold donated funds.

Sam Janson (Management Intern from the City) and I met with Carol at the Community Foundation to talk about a grant. I have recruited Abbei Monroe from the Harbor Humane Society to write grant on behalf of the city. I am extremely grateful that she volunteered.

I will begin fundraising activities shortly as I organize ideas, volunteers, etc.

The location of proposed park is at East Grand River Park.

If you have any questions in regards to the park, feel free to contact me at 616-935-9588 or email at tonya@mustlovedogsonline.com.